Severus Snape and the love that never faltered
by GeorgiferRosex
Summary: The tale of Snape and Lily,, told from Severus's perspective.
1. Prologue

Prologue.

_**1997...**_

The tears watered the old mans eyes, that looked horrible like they were going to burst. His wise, wrinkled face looked saddened as he turned away from the silver doe that had emerged from the other man's wand, skipping outside of the window playfully. "After all this time?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes filled with sadness as he remembered the doe that had pranced around the room in a magnificent manner,

"Always…" came the reply of the man, his face now lined from age and battle that had torn away his spirit, however his emotions had gone long before. All he was left with now was anger, hurt and despair. His heart had been broken many a time before, so much so that it felt empty now, like he didn't have a heart to beat. He was happy that he was not a Vampire, for he didn't have to put up with the pain he felt now for the rest of his life. It would carry on through to death, where he would meet her again. Maybe then she would see that he had been right for her all along, and that his love would never falter.


	2. Chapter 1  The Beginning of The End

**Chapter One.**

_The Beginning of The End…_

The wind swept through his greasy, black, shoulder length hair as he walked through the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The cold pinched his pale, gaunt cheeks but they remained white, as did his long, hooked nose. On finding his favourite Oak tree, he sat down, his black robes swimming around him; it gave him the impression of a vampire sitting on the Autumn leaves. The boy took out his school library book, 'Moste Ponte Potions,' that he had somehow convinced the potions master Professor Slughorn to allow him to take out of the restricted section. The green and silver shining from his tie were the only colours he wore, signifying his Slytherin house, otherwise almost the entirety of him was black and white, right down to the black holes of his eyes that formed black pits. This boys name was Severus Snape.

The gruesome images of people half way through changing to someone else, with images of severe terror and pain upon their faces, would normally cause somebody to shut a book and throw it to the side, however Severus continued to read intently, his eyes scaling the pages and swallowing the information. Anything to do with the Dark Arts seemed to be a godsend to him at this time, as he slowly watched the girl that he loved spend time with someone who was so unlike him that it was frustrating. He watched as the pictures slowly transformed into somebody else, as they moved. This happened on the hour, every hour, for the effects of The Polyjuice potion only lasted that long. Severus had not tried to create one yet, however he was skilled at Potions, having got an Outstanding in it for his O.W.L. Though he felt smug for getting such a high mark, his love for potions was nothing compared to his devotion to The Dark Arts. When he left school, he wanted to become a Death Eater with his friends like Macnair, or become a Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor - even though he didn't really want people to learn how to defend. He had decided that he would teach them purely on The Dark Arts.

The sun above him was hidden by the grey clouds that froze the grass and caused fog to hover over the castle and turrets of the magnificent castle of Hogwarts, making it look strangely haunted - which was good seeming as it Iwas/I. The ghosts of the Hogwarts castle were harmless, but they could startle you if you walked through them, or they floated through walls without notice. The only ghost that really caused any trouble was the poltergeist Peeves - who thoroughly enjoyed causing havoc among anything in sight, however that wasn't a problem; The Slytherin ghost The Bloody Baron would soon sort him out, being the only ghost that Peeves took orders from. Severus looked up at the castle, and his greasy hair framed his face in curtains. He wasn't looking forward to dinner, because the ceiling had been bewitched to look like the outside sky, and whenever their was fog it was extremely hard to see. However, maybe the weather would improved by then.

Severus turned back to his book, and started to read the recipe for the Polyjuice Potion. It was a rather complex potion, a lot like Veritaserum, however pretty straight forward. According to the book, the potion was only to be used for human transfiguration and not for animals. Snape amused himself for a moment at the thought of his worst enemy taking the Potion, but adding an essence of gorilla and not of another Witch or Wizard. He chuckled in his deep, slow voice as he looked up at the sky, the image of a gorilla James Potter being so good that even Ihe/I couldn't resist smiling. And who knows, maybe the effects would be permanent? Lily would never fancy him then. It wasn't like there was anything nice about Potter's personality, that would make Lily continue to love him though he was a hairy gorilla.

"What are you laughing at Snivellus?" Snape heard a cocky, arrogant like voice and he instantly turned his head to where the voice was, which was James Potter strutting towards him along with his stupid little gang - Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew; but what was worse was the fact that Lily was with him, walking arm in arm with him, a smile on her face. How could James Potter of all people be making her feel happy? Oh how he despised Potter, with his jet black messy hair, small and skinny with glasses. He was the Chaser of the Gryffindor team as well, and he didn't half show off on the pitch! Severus didn't think their was any sort of skill needed at all to throw a large ball into a hoop, but obviously other people did. He was like a hero that Potter, whereas Snape saw him for who really was. Arrogant, horrible and completely disgusting. As for his friends, well, it was quite obvious that Potter seemed to have picked those who were as arrogant as he; Sirius Black was tall, dark and handsome but his look seemed almost arrogant. Nobody could look that good without spending hours in front of the mirror, and he seemed to be very vain. Though Severus also had long hair, he didn't spend much time washing it, what was the point? He probably spent more time in front of the mirror than Rita Skeeter. Then there was Remus Lupin, who was constantly looking strained and worn, like he was in pain. Severus wouldn't have minded Remus if it wasn't for the fact that he was best friends with Potter and Black, who was the only Gryffindor in his Slytherin pure blood family - the most ancient and noble house of Black. Remus had sandy hair, and cuts all over his face had left scars. Every month Remus would mysteriously disappear to 'look after his mother', but Severus wasn't stupid or ignorant enough to believe that story. He had a hunch as to what was really going on, yet he was going to keep it to himself for the time being, until the information became useful. Then, lastly, their was Peter Pettigrew, who most called Wormtail. He was the most pathetic boy of the group, with watery eyes, and a plump stomach - he was obviously very pleased with himself though to be in a gang with such 'cool' people as James, Sirius and Remus. Sometimes Snape felt sorry for him, knowing that his 'friends' probably didn't even like him, and just used him to try and look cooler. Compared to the boys, Lily Evans was like a Goddess. Her beautiful red hair trailed down her back, and her green eyes, though beautiful, were at the minute annoyed and fearful as she allowed herself to be dragged over to Severus by James.

"Look James, just leave him alone okay! He's done nothing to you!" she said sharply as she looked at James, her green eyes full of annoyance, and Severus felt a sense of pride to the fact that at least she didn't enjoy the teasings of the boys.

But James Potter ignored Lily, just giving a long, cocky laugh as he continued to swagger towards Snape. "What are you reading Snapey?" he teased as he looked at the book, and he laughed again, infuriating Severus, who tried with all his might to keep his mouth shut. "Oh, you're reading about the Polyjuice Potion are you? Want to turn into somebody else for a change? I would if I was you." James continued to slur, in an arrogant manner, looking down at Snape. "I mean, I know you can't help being so ugly… maybe you want to be me for a change so that Lily here would pay more attention to you?" James laughed as his friends did also, and he put his hand up to give Sirius a high five, who happily obliged, putting his arm around James's neck. The two had always been so close, and, Severus thought bitterly, they were both the most horrific boys he had met in his life."Stop it James!" Lily said, pulling her arm away from his and going to stand next to Severus. "What has he ever done to you?""Ooh…" came the mocking tones of James, Sirius, Lupin and, eventually, Wormtail, whose voice sounded a bit more timid that the others.

"Well, he's breathing isn't he?" James continued, giving a smirk as Sirius cried out, "Nice one James!"

Severus stood up, and the gang before him laughed as he pulled his wand out of his pocket, pointing it towards James's chest. The boys retaliated by each pulling out their wands and pointing them at himself, Wormtail obviously being the slowest again. "Four against one. You're very brave." Severus said sarcastically as he looked at James, not breaking eye contact.

"Well actually, Severus, I am brave. See II/I was placed in Gryffindor - home of the brave.""Prove it.""What do you mean prove it? Can't you see my school tie?" James said with a laugh as he turned back to his friends, who all started laughing with him, leaving Snape incredibly frustrated.

"I mean prove that you're brave. One on one Potter." Snape hissed, looking at him with a glare, anger in his black pit eyes. This was going to be it. A duel, one to one. And maybe Snape would be able to turn him into that gorilla after all."NO! STOP IT!" came the scream from the sweet lips of Lily, who was now standing in between them. Snape instantly lowered his wand, however James kept his up. "I can't bear to see you fighting…"

"Fine." Snape said eventually, and he put his wand in his pocket, however James didn't seem to be finished yet. "Locomotor Mortis!" he said with a flick of his wand, and before Snape had time to pull out his wand and block the curse his legs were locked together, stopping him from being able to walk. He felt hopeless, knowing that the boys were going to tease him, and hurt him, and jinx him, and he wasn't even able to run away…

"JAMES YOU PIG!" Lily screeched as she turned to Snape and looked at him hopelessly.

"What? He was disrespecting me…" James said casually and Lily turned abruptly, fury in her eyes. "I don't blame him! You do nothing but tease him when he doesn't deserve it! I'm sick of you James Potter and your stupid ways. I've had enough of it!" she screamed at him and James lowered his wand, backing away. "Come on guys, let's leave Evans with her new boyfriend…" he said and they turned and strolled off, suppressing their laughs until they reached the castle, though they could be heard from the Oak tree where Severus Snape stood, leg-locked, next to the Gryffindor beauty Lily Evans.

"Ignore them Severus, they're not worth it…" Lily said as she linked arms with him. "Let's go and get Flitwick eh? He can perform the counter curse…""I don't see why you hang out with Potter." Snape said, as he started hopping along with Lily. "He fancies you, you know." he finished, his voice showing nothing but contempt towards the Gryffindor Chaser.

"So? I don't like some of the people that _you_ hang out with. Macnair and all of those sort of people. Lucius Malfoy is just awful…"Lily pointed out as she let a more loose touch on his arm.

"But you've seen what James Potter is like…""And I've seen what Macnair's like. He's so disgusting, Severus. I wish you wouldn't get involved in The Dark Arts. It's nasty stuff.""Well it's what I'm into okay. Anyway. It doesn't matter does it. You can run off to James Potter now if you want. Though he's awful, and everyone thinks he's so great… being you know… a big Quidditch star and everything..""Severus I don't need you to tell me that James Potter's an arrogant little cockroach - I know that already. But if that's how you feel…""Lily don't go…" But it was too late. She had let go of his arm and had started to walk in the opposite direction. It was painful to see her dainty figure leave him, running off into the arms of another. He knew then that he would never love anybody again like this. Ever. "Lily…" he called, and she turned around to look at him, her green eyes shining in the light. "Lilly I…" but the bell went for end of lunch at that exact moment, so he never had time to tell her. "Look, Snape, I've got to go and find James and the gang. We've got Herbology next with the Hufflepuff's, and you know what Professor Sprout's like…" Then Lily had gone, skipping away, seeming to spread happiness through every step she took; leaving Snape to hop irritably through the grounds to where he thankfully had Charms next. His last comforting thought were the words that Lily had said, that had caused hope to flood through his body. 'James Potter's an arrogant little cockroach…' - the words stayed in his mind as he finally entered the castle, ignoring the laughs people gave him as he hopped through the corridors, his knees aching: Lily Evans didn't fancy James Potter. The world suddenly seemed a much brighter place.


	3. Chapter 2 Think Before You Speak

**Chapter 2.**

_Think before you speak…_

Snape finally arrived at his Charms lesson, half an hour late, and watched the amused look of the students as he hopped into the classroom. Avery who was tall, podgy with brown hair, looked like he might pass out from trying not to laugh, and Rita Skeeta, a pale, blonde Ravenclaw who was sat in the corner, was scribbling a note to one of her friends in a suspicious manner, licking the end of her quill as she sat in thought for a second. Flitwick fell off the books he was standing on, and waddled up to Severus, reaching only the boys knees that were locked together. He instantly got his wand out, murmered the counter-curse, and gave him a stern look. "So you have finally decided to arrive then Severus.""I'm sorry Sir… leg-locked… James Potter…" Severus panted, clutching his side that stung furiously. His legs felt more like he had been put on the Jelly-leg jinx, because of how relaxed they felt now that they were unbinded. Flitwick somehow managed to grab Snape's wand from his pocket, and then said "Priori Incantanto!" Snape felt suddenly relieved that the last spell he had performed was 'Accio quill!', and not a dark spell or curse. As he thought, the words 'Accio quill…' spiralled out of his wand in greyish smoke. Satisfied, Professor Flitwick gave Severus his wand back, before saying. "Well Mr Snape, I don't think this Iwas/I your fault, so I shall speak to Mr Potter this afternoon. Now take your seat next to Mr Avery thank you so that we can continue with our lesson.

Snape took his seat next to Avery and got out his quill, ink and parchment before starting to copy the words out on the board.

'_The Aguamenti Charm is a charm that summons water. The water is pure and mineral, and stay flowing from your wand for as long as you are concentrating. If you want the water to be thicker, you merely have to think of the thickness of the water, and it will start pouring. The charm is most useful for Wizards and Witches who are dying of thirst, and in situations such as this, it is not rare for the wand to perform the spell itself, for it senses the needs of said Witch/Wizard…'_

Snape was bent over his desk, his nose merely inches from the desk as he wrote slowly and steadily, his handwriting curling in beautiful Calligraphy. His black hair that shined from grease overlapped his pale face and his yellowing teeth were gritted in concentration. His Mother Eileen Prince had taught him how to write, when his Father Tobias Snape, who was a Muggle, had refused to have anything to do with him. Severus hated his Father for causing his Mother such misery, and he judged most Muggles with bad impressions, for he thought of his Father as a typical Muggle. Snape's thoughts turned to Lily as he continued to write, trying desperately to concentrate. Would that happen with heartbreak? Would his wand sense his need to have Lily by his side, and summon her? He doubted that would happen. It felt like he could survive without water forever, however without Lily? He could die. Maybe if Lily had been sorted into Gryffindor, this would never have happened… '_The Augamenti Charm is also incredibly helpful for putting out fires, and filling up Fountain's…' _Snape continued to write, but he couldn't keep himself focused on his school work. Would James Potter be thinking about Lily Evans right now? Well, he was at an advantage. Not only could he think of her, he could also look at her, hear her sweet voice and (his insides squirmed at the thought…) he could even touch her hair, hug her… but Lily had said that she didn't love him. So maybe they were both in the same position? Snape wouldn't even have minded being in the house of Godric Gryffindor, if it meant being with Lily, but he had never had a chance. Snape wasn't that brave, but he was cunning. And he most certainly wasn't arrogant, like Potter and his friends. Severus had been thinking so much that he hadn't realised that he had finished copying down the text, with the line '_In conclusion, the Aguamenti Charm is essential for O.W.L success.' _

Snape looked up and raised his head from the table; he saw that some other Slytherin students had finished, and that all of the Ravenclaw's were looking at them in annoyance as usual, as if demanding a reason as to why they were not as quick and clever as them. Some of the more dim Slytherin's were still copying out the text, including Avery, who was a fan of the Dark Lord's yet not the most powerful wand in the set. Finally, everybody had finished, and Flitwick continued with his lesson. "In front of you there is a cup. I would like you all to please practise the Aguamenti charm and come up with some mineral water, that I shall test at the end of the lesson. Remember, swish and flick.." Flitwick said, as he motioned towards the cups that he had placed on everybody's desks while they were writing. "Good luck students." he said with a warm, kind-hearted smile as he got down from the pile of books that made him tall enough to stand at his desks, and wandered around encouraging and helping students. "Swish and flick…" Snape murmured under his breath as he took out his wand, staring at the cup intently, imaging it filling with water. Looking up he saw that many of the Ravenclaw's had already produced perfect mineral water. "Aguamenti…" Severus said with a swish and a flick of his wand, pointing down to the cup and imagining pure mineral water landing in the cup neatly. He wandered if Lily could do this spell - maybe if he had to practise she would help him out… and suddenly the water that flooded out of his wand was a bright red colour.. In fact the same colour as Lily's hair…

Snape hid his cup under his cloak and looked around to see if anybody had noticed, but nobody seemed to have, so he allowed himself a look down to the cup in his hand; however he found that the red water had disappeared!"If your water has stayed in the cup for more than ten seconds, then it is acceptable to drink. The cups are enchanted to only hold mineral water…" Flitwick squeaked to the whole class, and Snape sighed, putting the cup down and deciding to try again. "Aguamenti!" he said once more, with another swish and flick of the wand in his hand, when the image of James Potter came into his head. The water was this time a muddy brown, and though he had failed once more, Severus couldn't help but feel a bit smug that even his wand could tell that James was a bad egg. Once more the Water disappeared, and feeling considerably happier, Severus tried again. "Aguamenti!" came the now familiar incantation, and this time nothing distracted him except from the hope that filled his heart. The water that flooded from his wand was slightly enthusiastic, spilling over the cup ever so slightly, however it was still water and perfectly good water. Well, they did say third time lucky.

"Very good Severus! Drink up and have another go." Flitwick said kindly to Snape as he walked past his desk, and Snape obliged, gulping down the water and having another try. "Aguamenti!" he said again, more confident this time, and the water flooded from his wand, spiralling this time, and he managed to control the water to stop exactly where he wanted it to. "Good work Severus, you've certainly made up for your lateness! 10 points to Slytherin." he said with a smile before he walked to the front of the classroom. "Right students, it's time to stop. Let's test out your water shall we!" he squeaked, rubbing his hands together as he made his way around the students.

Testing out the water seemed to take a long time, as their were so many students. Severus amused himself by listening to the many comments from Flitwick that made him feel pretty smug, knowing that he had done well this lesson. "Hmm… a bit sour Skeeter.."

"A nice touch with the hint of pineapple, however that was not what we were looking for…""I can't even try that, or I would get contaminated with too many Germs."

Eventually Flitwick got around to Snape, and he downed his cup with delight.

"Well well Severus, pure mineral, just as I expected. You're a clever chap you are Mr Snape; I suspect you would make a good Auror." he said, before moving on to Avery, wrinkling his nose at the brown substance before him that smelled like rotten eggs. "Homework is to practise! I want you all to be able to create perfect mineral water by Monday! Class dismissed…"

The class wondered out of the Charms room along to their next lessons. Severus's was Transfiguration with the Gryffindor's, which of course he was dreading. As he moved down the corridor's though and entered one of the many staircases, Avery jumped next to him. "Severus." he said respectfully as Snape looked at him. "Avery." Severus replied, spelling out every single syllable slowly. "Malfoy says he wants to see you over dinner?""Lucius Malfoy?""Yes."

"Thank you for passing on the message."

Severus had been close friends with Lucius ever since he had started Hogwarts, however now that Malfoy was a prefect they rarely saw each other. The meeting with Lucius was what kept him stable as he went through Transfiguration; James and Sirius kept throwing bits paper at him that read 'Snivellus' and laughing, whilst Lily concentrated on her work, creating beautiful magic yet avoiding Severus's eye. The Transfiguration teacher Dumbledore seemed to ignore what was going on. It pained him, and he wanted to force Lily's beautiful green eyes to look at him - he wanted to scream "Look at me…" but he knew it would never do. She had chosen her side now. If she wanted to be with the Quidditch star Potter who was an arrogant little toerag then so be it - even if it tore up his insides piece by piece. Severus couldn't wait to get out of the classroom, and as soon as the class was dismissed he packed his wand and textbook away as fast as he could, pushing outside of the door and hurrying down the moving staircases, jumping over the vanishing step, and was in the Great Hall before most of the school had entered for dinner. Spotting the long silvery hair of Lucius Malfoy, Snape made his way over to him and sat down grabbing his goblet and pouring Pumpkin Juice into it blindly, for he had been correct about the fog. "Hello Severus." Lucius said coldly and slowly as Snape sat. "Lucius..." Snape said with a nod as he spooned some roasted potatoes onto his plate.

"I'm sorry I've not seen you in so long, but I'm very busy with my Prefect duties…""-Oh it's no problem." Snape interrupted. "I've been catching up on some background reading…""Dare I ask?" Lucius asked with a smug smile.

"Moste Ponte Potions." Snape answered with a curt, thin lipped smile.

"Oh very good. From the restricted section, I hazard a guess? Who gave you a permission slip…""-Professor Slughorn. I'm a member of the Slug Club you see…""-Very well." Lucius finished with a snap. It was obvious that he was annoyed at the fact that he wasn't a member of the Slug Club as well. Professor Slughorn, Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House, had a small group of select students around for tea, who he thought would go on to do great things, or who were related to somebody famous. Snape was commonly invited due to his Potions talents, yet Malfoy had never got an invite - even though he came from a long line of Pure Bloods. It left him incredibly bitter to think about it, and the anger shined in his glazed blue eyes. Lucius was tall, pale, with long silvery-blonde hair that seemed slick. He was handsome, yet with a pompous attitude about it.

"So how have you been lately?" Snape decided to change the subject, to keep Lucius on his side. He was a useful contact.

"Oh very good. Just been making sure that the Mudblood's get detention really…""Oh those Mudblood's yes…" Snape agreed, though privately he only really said it because he was scared of Lucius's reaction if he had disagreed. Suddenly Snape heard a gasp behind him, and he turned around to see Lily Evans, her eyes watering. "I… I thought you were different. I only came to apologise, but you obviously don't want a Mudblood around." she said, and Snape could see the tears in her beautiful eyes, the pain in her pretty little face.

"No… Lily.. You don't understand…""I perfectly well understand thank you very much!" Lily said before she started to run out of the door of The Great Hall. Severus forgot about Lucius and grabbed his bag, running after her, finally catching her by a spare corridor. She was crying, and her head was in her hands as the sobs erupted from her body. It made Severus want to die. "Lily…" he said as he sat down next to her, putting his arm on her shoulder.

"Get off me." she snapped, as she brushed him off of her.

"But Lily I was talking to Lucius… you know what he's like…""So!" she argued as she looked up at him.

"I… I'm not brave like a Gryffindor is. You know I don't care about blood status…" Snape said, biting his lip. Admitting he wasn't brave was a mighty blow for him. And he had lied to her. The only exception about blood status was her, and he agreed with pure blood supremacy.

"But how do I know?" Lily asked, rightly. He was known for spending time with manic Death Eater supporters. "I suppose you and your friends all want to become Death Eaters when you leave school, and get rid of riff-raff like me..""Of course not…" Severus lied, as he tried to give her a small smile, but she turned away. "Lily please. I'm begging you…""Then don't." Lily really was stubborn. That was one of the reasons he liked her, but now it had completely backfired on him.

"But Lily I love you…"

"It's too late Severus." she turned to him, but her look had softened this time. "James would never say anything like that to me.""James calls you names! Plus I didn't know you were behind me!" Snape pointed out.

"Yes but he'd never call me anything as derogatory as that!"

"Neither would I!" Severus finished, and the two sat in silence for a minute, before they both started laughing. What at, they didn't know, but they couldn't stay angry at each other for too long.

Suddenly Lily planted a kiss upon Severus's lips. It didn't last long but it still surprised him, and made him feel happy, pleasant inside. Afterwards she stood up, her red curls falling down her blouse, her hands in the pockets of her black trousers, the Gryffindor tie standing out so profoundly, as did his Slytherin one on him - Another reminder of why they couldn't be together. "You really are sweet Severus." Lily said softly, before she turned away again, and he was left with more confusion than ever, an even more empty feeling in the pit of his stomach, now that he knew what he had to lose. At least he'd had a kiss now though, which was more than James Potter had… well, he hoped so anyway.


	4. Chapter 3 When We First Met

**Chapter 3**

_When We First Met…_

Severus peered out from behind the bushes. He was looking around a play park, that was just a two minute walk from where he lived with his Mother and Father, in a small place called Spinner's End. Spinner's End was dark and gloomy, however that was home to him. His mother, Eileen Prince, had tried her hardest to try to make it more welcoming, but Severus wasn't a fool enough to think that she was acting to try to make him happy - she was doing it to try to impress Severus's Muggle father. But it never changed things. Tobias Snape was still as cruel as ever, and Snape shuddered as he remembered the things he did to him, the things he did to his Mother, his home, the rest of his family. He drew his attention back to the park, where two girls sat, deeply submerged in something that one of the girls, the red haired one, was doing. The other girl, who had blonde hair, was shrieking.

"Stop that!" she said. "It isn't natural!"The red haired girl laughed and seemed to continue what she had been doing, by the expression on the blonde one's face. Severus had been watching them for a few days now, stealing chances to rush to the park as often as he can. Sometimes it was just for the silent company, even though he knew they had no idea he was there. Often it was just to escape his Father and his Mother, all of their arguments.

"Their's nothing unnatural about it Petunia!" said the red haired girl, obviously repeating the action that she had made before, making blonde haired Petunia wince.

"Then how come I can't do that? And Mum and Dad can't do it? What makes _you_ so special eh?" she said, standing up and looking down at the red haired girl sternly.

Severus looked at the scene, feeling slightly intrusive but not even caring anymore. It felt like he had even made silent friends - it felt good to have some company other than his parents throughout the day. Often he had wondered what it felt like to have friends, but nobody wanted to go near 'that Snape boy'.Severus's Mother hadn't really gotten the hang of dressing Severus like a Muggle, and besides, Tobias didn't have money to spend at Muggle clothes shops like the rest of the Muggle, and even Wizarding world - Snape just had to make do with baggy trousers, a white sort of smock t-shirt and a baggy beige trench coat, which made him look ridiculous and itched in all the wrong places.

Oh how Severus longed to witness the Wizarding World. His Mother hadn't even taken him to The Leaky Cauldron in London, let alone Diagon Alley, the hidden Wizarding town that lay behind a wall there; To visit the large, marble building of Gringott's the Wizard Bank, to pore through the books at Flourish and Blott's, to stare longingly at Quidditch Robes in Madame Malkins - a game he had yet to watch, or even listen to on the radio. Eileen Prince, however, kept her son well informed, and Severus got the feeling that she regretted not being able to take her son to these places herself, that she regretted pulling him into a world of which he did not belong, or deserve.

Snape looked on towards the girls, who were seemingly still arguing. Snape thought it was rather odd - if _he_ was a Muggle, he would have loved to have a sibling that could do magic! It would be a wonder! They could do your homework for you, or tidy your room as quick as wink! However that, of course, would all depend on how nice they were. They could use their magic for the opposite, like throwing objects all around your room with their wand, and causing a bigger mess as soon as you'd finished tidying your room and end up getting you grounded. Not that, that would happen to Snape anyway. Tobias and Eileen seemed to want him out of the house twenty four seven anyway - most likely due to the arguments that seemed to echo through the house, even at night when Severus was trying to sleep.

"Tunie… I'm your sister. I'm not a freak, how dare you say that. Come on Tunie you don't mean it…" said the red haired girl, her pretty face changing to an expression of hurt and dismay, a look that gave Snape shivers down his spine. He wanted to make sure that the girl never held that expression again - because the mere thought of the girl being sad seemed to make _him_ sad.

"I don't care whether you're my sister or not, Lily, it is unnatural and I don't want you doing…. Whatever you're doing in front of me." said Petunia, sticking her nose up at Lily. Severus rolled his eyes - he was starting to dislike Petunia more and more each day. She was never happy unless she was judging someone, or putting her sister down. "I can't control it Petunia…" started Lily, before Petunia interrupted.

"-Well you seemed to be able to control it just then!" she retorted."Not properly!" insisted Lily, sighing, "and I'm scared too, Tunie! I don't know what it is and I don't know how I'm doing it. But I thought you'd be supportive of me…""-SCARED!" shouted Petunia with a laugh, "I'm not _scared_ of you Lily, I just think it's weird that's all. I know you'd never hurt me with your… your freak thing…"Severus couldn't stand to sit and watch the girls anymore. Something had seemed to tug inside his heart that made it ache, like a balloon just about to be popped. He had enjoyed sitting their feeling like he was a part of their conversations, but now they were starting to argue; and once the arguments started, then the park would just be like home, of him sitting their listening to the shouting. It was always nice to be able to sit and listen, observe, without feeling threatened and scared (maybe that was half the reason he was doing it), but all of that was seemingly about to change. And he didn't know if he could handle it if he ran home and never told the girls that he wanted desperately to sit and talk with them, to have real friends.

Severus took a deep breath and stood up from behind the bushes, and casually walked through and into the park. At first, the girls didn't seem to notice that he was there, so intently arguing they were, yet of course they soon enough realised that somebody was there who wasn't seemingly before.

"Who are you?" asked Lily brightly as she noticed Severus, and Petunia turned quickly, repeating the question. "Yes, who are you? What are you doing here?" she asked in a much harsher tone than Lily.

If Snape hadn't known otherwise then he would never have guessed that the two were sisters. From up close now, Snape could also see Lily had freckles, and vivid green eyes that made Snapes's stomach flip. They were the best looking eyes that he had ever seen, so pretty that they seemed to cause a spark into his very skin. However, looking to Petunia, she had a horse like look to her, a long neck and pursed lips. She looked as nice as her personality was… dry. Lily, however, looked full of life, the sort of girl that you would find scoring books with a thirst for knowledge, laughing daily, picking daisies, exploring with friends. Snape was suddenly aware of the fact that he had been standing their for a while now like a blundering idiot, and coughed before replying to the two girls, trying to sound mystical and mysterious.

"I know what you are," said Snape, plucking up the courage to say what he had been meaning to say for weeks. "I mean, I know why you do strange things that makes Petunia jealous. I know what it's called."

"That doesn't answer our question though does it?" snarled Petunia. "And that means you've been spying on us!"

"No… come on Petunia… let's hear what he has to say…" said Lily, giving Snape a small smile.

"No Lily, I know who that boy is! Their's no need for him to answer. He's that Snape boy who lives down Spinners End. His Father's a drunk and his Mother's out of work, which is obvious by his clothes. Come on Lily let's go…" Petunia said, grabbing Lily's hand and attempting to tug it in the opposite direction, yet Lily didn't move."No Tunie, I want to hear what he's got to say…" she said, and Petunia stopped, staring at Snape.

"WELL?" she shouted and Snape continued.

"You're a Witch… you can do Magic… don't listen to Petunia, it doesn't make you a freak. It just makes you special in a good way. You're a Witch and I'm a Wizard!" he said, staring intently at Lily. "Well that's not very nice…" said Lily, looking up at Petunia, then down to the floor. Snape's heart jumped and he quickly tried to put things right,

"Look I'm not being mean, that's what they're called, and it's not a bad thing because when you go to Hogwarts you get to do loads of magic! Magic that you could never even dream of. You're a Muggle-Born, so I suppose that Professor McGonagall will come and explain to your parents, but you'll get the letter. You'll get the letter like me!" said Snape quickly, ending breathlessly. He'd tried to explain everything, but from the puzzled expression on both Lily and Petunia's faces, he had done a bad job.

"You're lying to me aren't you? And what's a Muggle?" said Lily quietly, still looking down at the floor.

"Of course I'm not lying to you! Muggle's are non magic people, so Petunia is a Muggle whereas you're a Witch. Hogwarts is a school where you learn more magic and you learn how to control it! It's like a boarding school and you study so many classes! You'll get your letter when you're eleven, which is two years for me and I can't wait!" said Snape excitedly as he sat down next to Lily. Petunia stood their transfixed, staring at Snape, a peculiar expression upon her face.

"I don't believe a word he's saying Lily, let's go…" she said and tugged Lily's hand so hard that she had no choice but to stand up and follow her."NO TUNIE take me BACK…. Take me BACK NOW…. Let GO of me… I want to talk to him…" pleaded Lily as she was dragged along the road by Petunia."NO LILY we're GOING HOME!" shouted Petunia, and Severus looked at the floor, sighing, trying to stop the tear in his eye from falling, but failing.

As soon as the teardrop hit the ground, he heard a scream! Looking up, he saw that Petunia had let go of Lily's hand and was gripping it in pain. It looked like it had burned at the mere touch of her skin - Lily's head also jolted up, staring into Severus's black tunnels of eyes.

"You did that didn't you!" she said, her face panic stricken.

"No… no… I swear…" said Severus, though even _he_ was unsure. He hadn't meant to hurt Petunia, who was crying her eyes out now at the pain of the burn.

"You did, I bet you did. Well to think I wanted to speak to you! I never want to see you again Severus Snape! Petunia was right about you!" she said, almost as snotty as her sister had acted before. "Come on Petunia, we really _are_ going home…" she finished as she stalked off, followed by her sobbing sister.

"No… no…. please…. Come back…. Please…. No…." shouted Snape, but soon the sound of his voice was being muffled, and his heart was pounding, and he was shaking and turning…. And he woke up in a cold sweat, chest pounding, and surrounded by the fellow boys in his dormitory, laughing, jeering, imitating his murmurs.


End file.
